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TWENTY-ONE
OAKLEY
I'm not usually someone who gets nervous, considering that I work best under high-pressure situations. However, this morning I did indeed wake up with a stomach full of nauseating nerves. The culprit—meeting Ava's family.
A faint tap on my truck's window makes me jump in surprise and smack the top of my head against the roof. Rubbing my injured crown, I roll my window down. Ava is standing by my truck, her arms crossed.
"Were you planning on staying out here all night?" she teases. The mischievous glint in her eyes seems to dance playfully as I curse myself. I have been parked in front of Ava's family home for the past five minutes, daydreaming. What a great first impression.
The relatively large yet homely-looking house sits at the top of the cobblestone driveway. The light brick and massive floor to ceiling windows contrast perfectly. The lawn is neatly trimmed, despite the weather and time of year. The cobblestone driveway is illuminated by garden lights, all the way up to the porch.
"Maybe I was just waiting for you to come outside to greet me?" I say, my voice dripping in sarcasm. Ava rolls her eyes at me in response. I grab my keys from the ignition and pick up the flowers that Mom insisted I bring from the passenger seat.
Ava's eyes widen in surprise. "Good call with the flowers. How did you know to get daisies?"
I hop out of the truck and smirk, oddly proud. "Have a little faith, babe." She raises an eyebrow accusingly, unconvinced. "Fine. My mom told me to get them. Happy now?"
She lets out a light laugh and laces our fingers together. Leading the way up the driveway, she takes the flowers out of my hand, looking over at me curiously.
"You ready?"
"Let's do this, baby doll."
Ava wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. Squeezing my hand, she pushes the door open.
"Always the confident one."
As soon as I step inside, the smell of turkey makes my stomach growl.
Similar to my house, Ava's has a very open floor plan. Straight across from the front door is the living room, with a fireplace resting in between two built-in bookshelves. The kitchen is directly beside us. It's beautiful, with its light oak cabinets, marble countertops that nearly match the floor to perfection.
"Take your shoes off," Ava giggles, snapping me out of my reverie. I quickly do as she says and let her lead me past the kitchen and over to a lavishly decorated dining room.
Sitting in two of the eight chairs at the white wooden dining table is Ava's mom and who I’m guessing is her brother's girlfriend.
"Mom, Sydney, this is Oakley," Ava says confidently, not letting go of my hand. Sydney gives me a simple wave of her hand while Ava's mom stands with her hands on her hips, her brown eyes narrowed.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Layton." I swallow past the lump in my throat and offer her my hand.
"You were right when you said he was handsome, Ava baby."
My eyes widen as Ava's cheeks flush. Lily lets out a loud laugh, her long auburn waves swinging behind her shoulders with the action. "Put that hand away and hug me. Save the manners for my husband," she insists and pulls me in for a tight hug. "Oh, and call me Lily. Mrs. Layton makes me sound like my crazy mother-in-law."
"Sounds good, Lily," I chuckle and wink at Ava over her mom's shoulder.
"Where did dad and Ben go?" she asks as soon as Lily releases me.
"Oh, you know them. Ben insisted on your dad helping him fix the piece of crap car that he still refuses to sell."
As if on cue, loud footsteps sound from somewhere down the hall.
"Son, that thing is a piece of shit. You're going to end up stranded on the road in no time," a gravelly voice chides, getting louder the closer they get to us.
"It's my baby. No way in hell am I giving her up," a younger male voice says quickly.
The arguing men enter the dining room and I raise my eyebrows. Despite the apparent age gap between the two, they are almost identical: exceptionally tanned with chiselled features, tall frames, and light eyes. The older man—Ava's father—is taller than her brother. He is easily the same height as me. His eyes are slits and his lips are pulled tight into a straight line. He stares at me intently for a few moments, trying to intimidate me. I stare back, unaffected. He nods slightly and looks away.
"Oakley, these two teenagers are my dad and brother." Ava shoots both men a warning look as if daring them to insult me. She's so cute.
